Forestry Week climaxes today

21.SEP.07

Forestry Focus, organised by the Forestry Department in the Ministry of Agriculture comes to an end today. The week, which ran from September 16 – 21, was held under the theme, ‘Conserving the Forest in Partnership with the Community’, and focused on the North Windward Area.{{more}}

In declaring the week open, Minister of Agriculture Hon. Montgomery Daniel said in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Forestry Department has already embraced the philosophy of participatory forest management and working in partnership with communities and stakeholders, generally, towards achieving sustainable forest management.

This approach, he said, is exemplified in the development and implementation of the Integrated Forest Management and Development Programme which is addressing the issue of deforestation.

According to Minister Daniel, Forests provide both productive and protective functions in the North Windward area, and by extension St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

“It plays an important role in conserving the highly erodeable soils composed largely of unconsolidated volcanic material, and provide important habitat for several wildlife species, some of which are hunted for food” he said.

Activities held during the week included a church service on Sunday, 16th September, at the Owia Pentecostal Church, a community discussion at the Sandy Bay Learning Resource Centre on Tuesday, 17th September, a schools’ debate on the topic ‘Do you agree that the forest is important to community Development’, and a sporting activity at the London Playing Field today ,Friday, 21st September.

Johnson said the purpose of the activities is to highlight awareness of the importance of the forest and continue to sensitize the public of their role in conserving our natural resources.(API)